Storyline

An aging Sheriff tries to keep the peace in Rome, Wisconsin, a small town plagued by bizarre and violent crimes.

First Aired

1992-09-18
Last Aired

1996-06-26
Creator

David E. Kelley
Genre

Drama, Comedy
Seasons

4
Episodes

88
Status

Ended
Language

English
Network

CBS

Keywords:

small town family relationships small town sheriff

Stream and watch Picket Fences

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

1. Picket Fences

A beloved local man is killed during a stage production of The Wizard of Oz. Suspicion initially falls...More

A beloved local man is killed during a stage production of The Wizard of Oz. Suspicion initially falls on the town pharmacist when the sheriff learns the dead man was having an affair with the pharmacist's daughter. The dead man's wife confesses but her confession is suppressed in court. She is then murdered and the Sheriff's department discovers that she and the pharmacist conspired to kill her husband and then the pharmacist killed her.Less

87mins 1992-09-18

2. The Green Bay Chopper

After a child brings a severed human hand to school for show and tell, the Sheriff's department teams ...More

After a child brings a severed human hand to school for show and tell, the Sheriff's department teams with the FBI to pursue a serial kidnapper, the "Green Bay Chopper", who severs the right hands of his victims.Less

42mins 1992-09-25

3. Mr. Dreeb Comes to Town

Max falls for a dwarf who rides into town on an elephant, which the dwarf says was being abused at a c...More

Max falls for a dwarf who rides into town on an elephant, which the dwarf says was being abused at a circus. Jill tells Kimberly's favorite teacher, Mr. Pankow, that he has a brain tumor.Less

42mins 1992-10-02

4. The Autumn of Rome

The candidates in the upcoming mayoral election are using such outrageous smear campaigns that Sheriff...More

The candidates in the upcoming mayoral election are using such outrageous smear campaigns that Sheriff Brock considers running for Mayor himself.Less

42mins 1992-10-16

5. Frank the Potato Man

A rash of break-ins leads to an investigation of a "serial bather". Suspicion initially centers on "Fr...More

A rash of break-ins leads to an investigation of a "serial bather". Suspicion initially centers on "Frank the Potato Man", a vagrant who, it is learned, was tried for aggravated rape 15 years earlier.Less

42mins 1992-10-23

6. Remembering Rosemary

When a catatonic housemaid utters the word "murder" after a decade of not speaking, the Sheriff's depa...More

When a catatonic housemaid utters the word "murder" after a decade of not speaking, the Sheriff's department learns that the "suicide" of a beloved town figure a decade prior was actually a homicide.Less

42mins 1992-10-26

7. The Contenders

Town doctor Jill Brock, fed up with the mayor's failure to address women's issues, declares herself a ...More

Town doctor Jill Brock, fed up with the mayor's failure to address women's issues, declares herself a write-in candidate in the upcoming mayoral election. Deputy Kenny Lakos arrests a former boxing world champion and convinces him to engage in a charity match before extradition to New Jersey.Less

42mins 1992-10-30

8. Sacred Hearts

An elderly patient is murdered at a nursing home. A "singing serial mercy-killing" nun is arrested, sp...More

An elderly patient is murdered at a nursing home. A "singing serial mercy-killing" nun is arrested, sparking controversy over the ethics and legality of euthanasia.Less

42mins 1992-11-06

9. Thanksgiving

Jill's father arrives in Rome with his new 26-year-old girlfriend. Wambaugh finds his wife in bed with...More

Jill's father arrives in Rome with his new 26-year-old girlfriend. Wambaugh finds his wife in bed with another man.Less

42mins 1992-11-13

10. The Snake Lady

Max, Brock, and Kenny investigate the mysterious death of a woman who may or may not have committed su...More

Max, Brock, and Kenny investigate the mysterious death of a woman who may or may not have committed suicide.Less

42mins 1992-12-04

11. Pageantry

A rabbi seeks to block the town from staging a religiously-themed Christmas pageant on public property...More

A rabbi seeks to block the town from staging a religiously-themed Christmas pageant on public property. The town is shocked to learn that beloved teacher Louise Talbot, scheduled to play the Virgin Mary in the pageant, is a post-operative transsexual.Less

42mins 1992-12-11

12. High Tidings

When the Brock family inadvertently finds Kimberly having sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christ...More

When the Brock family inadvertently finds Kimberly having sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Jimmy wants to prosecute him for statutory rape. A man claiming to be Santa Claus takes Max and dispatcher Ginny hostage and Jimmy tries to talk him down.Less

42mins 1992-12-18

13. Frog Man

Kenny is seriously wounded by the Frog Man, a burglar who leaves live frogs at the site of his crimes.

Kenny is seriously wounded by the Frog Man, a burglar who leaves live frogs at the site of his crimes.Less

42mins 1993-01-08

14. Bad Moons Rising

When Alice Freeman is charged with murder in the death of her husband, Wambaugh defends her by claimin...More

When Alice Freeman is charged with murder in the death of her husband, Wambaugh defends her by claiming insanity as the result of menopause. Brock's son, Matthew, begins to experience puberty.Less

42mins 1993-01-15

15. Nuclear Meltdowns

When her friend becomes pregnant, Kimberly fears that she is the victim of incest. However, the man pu...More

When her friend becomes pregnant, Kimberly fears that she is the victim of incest. However, the man purporting to be her father is actually her husband and they are involved in a polygamous relationship. Max investigates a religious sect that engages in animal sacrifice. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean SagalLess

42mins 1993-01-22

16. The Body Politic

A fugitive doctor seeks a court order to allow him to keep his brain-dead wife on life support to allo...More

A fugitive doctor seeks a court order to allow him to keep his brain-dead wife on life support to allow her to bring her pregnancy to term. The mayor fires the town dentist for refusing to disclose that he is HIV-positive. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean SagalLess

42mins 1993-02-05

17. Be My Valentine

Deputy Max goes undercover when a response to her personal ad leads her to believe that she is being t...More

Deputy Max goes undercover when a response to her personal ad leads her to believe that she is being targeted by a serial killer known as "Cupid."Less

42mins 1993-02-12

18. Fetal Attraction

Jill enlists her former fiancé to perform a fetal transplant on a patient with Parkinson's disease ove...More

Jill enlists her former fiancé to perform a fetal transplant on a patient with Parkinson's disease over the objections of the town hospital. Jimmy feels threatened when he catches Jill and her former fiancé exchanging a kissLess

42mins 1993-04-01

19. Sightings

Carter believes a sheriff who mysteriously disappeared 38 years earlier may have been killed by radiat...More

Carter believes a sheriff who mysteriously disappeared 38 years earlier may have been killed by radiation emitted by an Unidentified Flying Object.Less

42mins 1993-04-08

20. Rights of Passage

A group of heavily armed Chippewa Indians declares war on Rome, seizes, and barricades the courthouse....More

A group of heavily armed Chippewa Indians declares war on Rome, seizes, and barricades the courthouse. Ginny stages a protest when Jill begins administering growth hormones to a short boy. Matthew takes on the school bully.Less

42mins 1993-04-15

21. Sugar and Spice

Kimberly and her best female friend exchange a few kisses during a sleepover, leading to rumors that K...More

Kimberly and her best female friend exchange a few kisses during a sleepover, leading to rumors that Kimberly is a lesbian. She turns to her birth mother, who had a lesbian affair in college, for advice.Less

42mins 1993-04-29

22. The Lullaby League

Max delivers a baby and begins adoption procedures when the natural mother disappears. Jill transplant...More

Max delivers a baby and begins adoption procedures when the natural mother disappears. Jill transplants a pig's liver into a blues vocalist after the woman collapses on stage. Guest star: Della Reese.Less